Link:Former Michigan and NBA player Robert "Tractor" Traylor faces up to 14 months in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a criminal tax charge.
Traylor, 29, got in trouble by claiming ownership of two Detroit rental properties that were owned by his cousin, convicted drug kingpin Quasand Lewis, according to court testimony.
Traylor pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn to assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.
He claimed a $205,688 rental loss on the two properties for the 2004 tax year, significantly reducing his taxable income.
Cohn asked for a presentence report and released Traylor on bond. Cohn did not set a sentencing date.
Under a plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office is recommending a sentence of eight to 14 months in prison.
Robert Corso, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said the agency and its law enforcement partners are "committed to not only ridding the streets of drugs and those who traffic in major quantities of them, but to finding and stopping the illegal transfer of drug proceeds, as well."
Lewis, 36, the head of a drug trafficking conspiracy that authorities said netted more than $178 million in marijuana and cocaine profits, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison in December. The court was told that Lewis found various ways to hide his drug profits, including putting real estate in others' names.
Traylor, who last played for the Cavaliers in 2004-05, was named tournament MVP in leading Michigan to the 1997 National Invitation Tournament championship.
